


Defy Your Fate

by miseteshiningstar



Category: Persona 4
Genre: Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Confessions, Love Confessions, M/M, Mutual Pining, One Shot, Short One Shot, Soulmate AU
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-04-07
Updated: 2019-04-07
Packaged: 2020-01-06 03:34:14
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,337
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18380129
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/miseteshiningstar/pseuds/miseteshiningstar
Summary: From the moment they're born, every person permanently has a single phrase written on their left wrist that tells them the last thing they'll ever hear from their soulmate. Many people simply passively go along with what's already pre-destined for them, but Yu refuses to let it happen, especially when he hasn't even confessed yet.





	Defy Your Fate

**Author's Note:**

> i took a break from another fic to write this and i'm LIVING

Most people tried not to discuss the words permanently written on their left wrist from the very moment they were born. They were usually simple phrases, like "Did you ask her?" or "I'm going back, I forgot the milk." Other times they had darker suggestions, like "Please hurry!" or "Promise that you'll meet me in heaven." Those were the phrases that nobody wanted to have.

The words on a person's left wrist tell them the last words they'll ever hear from their soulmate. You're considered lucky if your wrist says something like "Come again, have a good day!" because you'll never get close to your soulmate. As heartbreaking as that is to some people to know that they may never get to know their soulmate, many would prefer it to having a phrase as common as "Good night" on them. It causes them to worry whenever they hear the phrase, and start to wonder if it would be the last time they would see the person that spoke it.

 

So, of course, every member of the Investigation Team has a short phrase permanently written on their wrists, and they were always discussed whenever someone new joined. At the beginning, it was all everyone talked about until another victim appeared on the Midnight Channel.

They had learned that Yu's wrist had "Are you okay?", which was unsettling enough. He was asked that by different people nearly every day, and couldn't help but cringe whenever he heard it.

Chie's wrist had, "Are you sure you fixed it?" and in addition to that, Yukiko's wrist read, "I promise!" In a long discussion with the others, everyone had agreed that their phrases likely went together. They later admitted that they had been secretly dating in the hopes that they could spend as much time with the other as possible until they inevitably have that conversation.

Kanji had "My dad said I can't play with you anymore" written on him, and he earned the pity from the group. His meant that he had already heard it during his childhood, and he had sadly told the others that he's heard the phrase from so many of his "friends" already, so he had gotten used to hearing it at one point.

Yosuke's wrist simply had "Get back!" It worried everyone, especially considering what they all did nearly every day after school and how vague it was. Because of that, he often tried to be twice as careful in bad situations.

And nobody could tell what Rise had written on her. She always kept her left wrist covered with a thin band, and never spoke a word about it to the others. No matter how many times Teddie tried to pry it off of her, she wouldn't budge. Maybe hers was controversial? After all, she did work in entertainment before she came back to Inaba.

 

Now, it was August 6th. The team had found their culprit, and were on their way to catch him and close the case. No more people that they were close to would disappear, and everyone could go back to having the same regular lives that their classmates did. The exploration of the first six levels of this dungeon was simple; navigate through the classic video game setting, defeat the Shadows on the floor, and move up to the next.

When they got to the seventh level, things went south. Everyone made it through the first intersection that changed their direction, agreeing that all they needed to do was follow Yu and go the same direction that he did. This didn't keep up, as after a few intersections everyone quickly became disoriented and couldn't stay on the same track. It didn't take long for them to get separated, with Yukiko and Chie getting sent in the opposite direction of Yu and Yosuke.

 

"What the- turn back around!" Yu calls to the girls, now standing across from him and Yosuke.

 

"Sorry! One second." Chie calls back, before stepping towards Yu and disappearing. She doesn't reappear on another side, and it doesn't take long for Yukiko to realize it and follow her, disappearing as well.

 

"That's new..." Yu mumbles. "Do you think they'll be alright?" He asks.

 

"Maybe, but let's go find them to make sure!" Yosuke immediately darts forward, and Yu doesn't get a chance to tell him to wait or reach out to grab him and stop him before he disappears, the same way that Chie and Yukiko did.

Sighing, Yu looks around to see if Yosuke appeared anywhere else. After finding that he didn't, he steps through the intersection as well, getting enveloped by a blinding white light one more time.

 

And comes face to face with a Shadow that catches him off guard. He tries to see if it attacked Yosuke as well, but he's nowhere nearby. And with as disoriented as Yu is, the Shadow quickly knocks him down and he's unable to hold his sword properly. He yells out, dragging himself up off of the ground and running away from the Shadow to recollect himself. He manages to summon Jack Frost and get in a single hit before he's knocked down again. Why is he suddenly collapsing so easily? This isn't like him!

When the Shadow reels back, Yu's able to sit up and think of how he's going to beat it by himself when he hears a loud, "Partner!" from behind him.

 

"I'm so glad to see you." He says, turning to look up at Yosuke.

 

"Same here." He offers his left hand to Yu to help him up, seemingly unaware of the Shadow that Yu has yet to defeat. "Are you okay?"

 

"Yeah, I--" Yu's about to take his hand when he notices the Shadow moving, gearing up to hit Yosuke with all it has.

 

"Get back!" He shouts, and when Yosuke doesn't move in time, that's when the realization hits him like a train. That Shadow was about to kill Yosuke whether he liked it or not. He had just asked Yu if he was okay, a phrase he had heard dozens of times before, but was also written on his wrist. And in response, he had just told Yosuke to get back, words that Yu could very clearly see written on the wrist Yosuke was still holding out to him.

Did this mean they were soulmates? If that was true, did that mean this was the last conversation they would have? Wait. That couldn't happen. That can't happen! Yu wasn't about to let some stupid pre-decided fate take the life of the person he was in love with! He hadn't even gotten the chance to tell him yet!

Without giving himself the time to think about it, he launches himself at Yosuke, knocking him down and shielding him with his body. He smashes Izanagi's Persona card on the ground, praying that he'll kill the Shadow before it can get to them.

 

Yosuke makes a strangled sound as they hit the ground. _What was that? That was sudden!_ Why was Yu suddenly on top of him?

 

There's a bright flash of light, and Yu tenses up when his surroundings go silent. The only thing telling him that Yosuke is still alive is the sound of his shaky breathing. Yosuke doesn't know how to react to Yu suddenly going completely rigid and being able to hear his heart pounding.

 

Once he's sure the Shadow is killed, Yu breathes a sigh of relief and pushes himself off of Yosuke, sitting back.

 

"...Yu? What was that for?" Yosuke confusedly sits up. He stares at Yu, who's... shaking? _Are_ _those tears in his eyes?_

 

He has to take a minute to calm himself before he can speak. "You asked if I was okay..." He pushes up the sleeve on his left arm to explain what he can't say.

 

"Yeah? And? That didn't mean you had to..." Yosuke falls silent after his realization. "...You... You told me to get back..."

 

The two look up at each other and their gazes meet.

 

"Wait, was I about to die?!" Yosuke sits up straighter, concern showing on his face.

 

Yu nods, tears finally spilling out of his eyes. "That's why I knocked you down... It was about to hit you and I couldn't let it, especially not if we're--"

 

"Soulmates?" Yosuke interrupts him. "Dude, I was afraid that we might be... But I didn't think I'd find out like this."

 

"How can we be sure?"

 

"I don't know... Try looking at your-- hey!" Yosuke suddenly grabs Yu's left hand (earning a light blush and a "Wha--!" from the other) and pulls it towards him. "It doesn't say anything anymore!"

 

"What?!" Yu leans over to look, and surely enough, the words that he had gotten used to seeing each day for the past sixteen years have suddenly disappeared.

 

"Did you break it?"

 

"No! What about yours?" Yu grabs Yosuke's left wrist with his free hand and turns it over, gasping when he finds nothing there. "It's gone!"

 

"How?!" Yosuke pulls his arm away from Yu to get a good look at it, shocked to find it blank.

 

"I think we really might be soulmates..." Yu whispers.

 

"Yeah, no shit!" Yosuke laughs, seemingly unbothered by Yu's suggestion. "First you save my life, and then I find out that I was supposed to die then? I don't think I could've gotten a better person for a soulmate."

 

Yu tenses up, realizing that he hadn't considered that possibility. Was Yosuke really supposed to have been killed by that Shadow? What would he have done if he didn't knock him down and it really hit him? The thought is almost too much for him to bear.

"Yeah... I think I just got lucky getting you... Even with coming to Inaba in the first place."

 

Yosuke looks at the ground between them. "What if you hadn't come here? Do you think I would have... Died? Without ever meeting you?"

 

"Don't say that!" Yu suddenly shouts, at a much higher volume than he means to. After seeing Yosuke's face, he backs down. "Sorry, I just don't like thinking about what things would be like if I had never met you."

 

"Well neither do I but-- wait. Why?" Yosuke doesn't mean for his curiosity to show, but he can't help it. What would the ever-stoic Yu think he had to lose for never meeting someone as mediocre as him in the first place? Why would he need to worry?

 

Yu's breath hitches. Should he really tell him why? He wasn't prepared to be put on the spot like this! But, then again, if they really were soulmates, it would make plenty of sense for him to go ahead and get it out now while they were both still confused about the whole situation. If he got rejected now, he might be able to handle it rather than getting rejected a month from now. So, without trying to think too much into the consequences, he starts to speak. "I don't know what kind of life I would be living if I hadn't met you. I might've died in the TV a long time ago or never even found out about it unless Chie told me. I might not even have a reason to want to spend the rest of the year here, I would just be living day-to-day until I could go back home. That's not how I want to live... You give my life here meaning."

 

The look on Yosuke's face is unreadable, faraway even. Almost like he's not hearing what Yu is saying.

 

Figuring that he's simply stunned, Yu tries to finally say it. "Yosuke... I..." He hangs his head. He can't get the words out. He's never said this before, especially not to his best friend.

 

Luckily, he doesn't need to, because as simple as it was, Yosuke understands. "Partner, it's okay... I love you too."

 

Yu's head snaps up. Did he really just say that? Was he just hearing things? It had to be a joke, there was no way that the person he had secretly loved for so long actually loved him back. But after seeing the soft expression on Yosuke's face, his heart temporarily stops and his face flushes. It wasn't a joke, but he doesn't know what to say! How do you react to this kind of thing?

"I-- um-- ah, you-you do?" Is all he can get out. _Stupid! Stupid!_

 

"Yes...? I wouldn't be saying it if I didn't." Yosuke laughs quietly. "I figured that's what you were trying to say."

 

Yu nods quickly. "It was, but I didn't... think you would feel the same way."

 

"Are you serious? You never noticed anything I did to hint that I liked you? That stings."

 

"What? When?" _Were the signs really there all along? Was I just too dense to see through it?_

 

Yosuke shrugs, a light blush on his face. "You know how I push you out of the way when you're about to get attacked sometimes? Or how you're always the first person I heal when I get the chance to? Or how I'm always asking to spend time with you?"

 

Yu silently curses at himself for never catching on. "Oh. I'm sorry, I never realized it..."

 

"Don't be sorry! At least you found out early. And we are soulmates, right? We've got the rest of our lives ahead of us."

 

Yu's heart soars at the word 'soulmates.' That was right, he and Yosuke were soulmates, and they very clearly loved each other. But what would the others say when they told them about everything that happened? "You're right. But what about everyone else? What do you think they'll say?"

"We'll have to find out when we tell them, won't we?" Yosuke stands up, offering a hand to Yu. "Now, let's get out of here, Partner-- or should I say 'Soulmate'?" He grins at his cleverness.

 

Yu takes his hand and lets himself be pulled up, grinning. "I think I like 'Boyfriend' better."


End file.
